Tech Biz Roundup: Gene Muster on Apple, Facebook’s Horrid Week

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) purchases Hewlett-Packard’s (NYSE:HPQ) webOS team, perhaps for considerably less than the asking price of $1.2 billion, according to The Verge. The team’s future had been in doubt since H-P ceased hardware development for the platform. Google’s motivation could be multiple: becoming enabled to utilize elements of webOS’ user interface in Android; the commercial marketing of the Enyo app development platform; and the fact that Android design head Matias Duarte previously worked on webOS.

Here are the reasons Gene Muster of Piper thinks Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares will reach $1,000 over the next two years: a completely redesigned iPhone; an Apple television set priced in a $1,500 to $2,000 range; limited iPhone subsidy reductions \which are partly because of the low churn rates of iPhone users; continued profit growth; demand in China; skyrocketing tablet sales; and enterprise Mac/iOS adoption.

One week after its now legendary initial public offering, shares of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) slid again, following word that Capstone Investments is worried about the company’s valuation, and the performance of its premium ads, and thus began its coverage with a Hold. On Thursday, news came that FB will enable advertisers to book premium ads either by way of its site, or through third parties, a process that might improve demand but also lower rates. Meanwhile chatter (a source to Pocket-lint) is that FB is considering the acquisition of Opera Software, maker of the namesake browser. The latter’s large mobile base might be of interest to Facebook, which is said to be readying a smartphone, and continues to push its HTML5 mobile app platform, which enables user to access apps through a browser regardless of operating system. Later on Friday, a source to The Next Web confirmed that Opera is in talks with suitors, but it’s unclear if Facebook is included.

Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) announces it will no longer invest in Android’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Cius enterprise tablet line, landing another woe on top of the latter’s market standing. As an alternative, Android will concentrate upon supplying IP communications software for mobile devices through its Jabber and WebEx families. Possibly motivating Cisco’s decision was that usage of enterprise iPad moves forward faster, due to corporate purchases, and IT’s “bring your own device”.